The International Criminal Court's Continued Engagement in the Fight against the Use of Child Soldiers in Armed Conflicts
GHRTV Reporter
18-02-2022
Grace ATALUI MOKANGO
International Justice and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
Every year, 12 February is celebrated as World Day Against the Use of Child Soldiers. This practice is an extreme violation of the most fundamental rights of the child.
Since its creation, the International Criminal Court has been involved in this struggle. According to Articles 8.2(b)(xxvi) and 8.2(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute, conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 into the national armed forces or armed groups to take an active part in hostilities, constitutes one of the most serious violations of the laws and customs of war. Consequently, it constitutes a war crime whether in international or non-international armed conflict.
In his statement of 14 February 2022, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim A.A. Khan QC reaffirmed the Court's commitment to the fight against the use of child soldiers, stating that "Children continue to bear the brunt of war and conflict…A crime against a child is an awful act. Such crimes demand accountability and it is here that the Court has a particularly important role to play…The Office that I have the privilege to lead has made important inroads in ensuring accountability for crimes against and affecting children, including those abducted otherwise recruited for military purposes".
It should be noted that the Court has already prosecuted and convicted for this war crime. In the case of The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga, the Court convicted him and sentenced him to 14 years imprisonment for the war crimes of enlisting, conscripting, and using children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This crime was also one of the 13 charges for which Bosco Ntaganda was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Finally, in the case of The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen, which is at the appeal stage before the Court, one of the charges on which he was convicted in 2021 was conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 into the Sinia Brigade to participate in hostilities.
In its jurisprudence, its commitment, through the hashtag #ProtectChildren and the various policies adopted by the Office of the Prosecutor, the International Criminal Court demonstrates its continued fight to protect children.
Sources and further reading
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan QC on the occasion of the 2022 International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, from : https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=20220214-otp-statement-child-soldiers
Rome Statute, from : https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/documents/rs-eng.pdf
Situation in Democratic Republic of the congo, The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Case sheet information, from : https://www.icc-cpi.int/CaseInformationSheets/lubangaEng.pdf
Situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Prosecutor v. Bosco Ntaganda, Case sheet information, from : https://www.icc-cpi.int/CaseInformationSheets/ntagandaEng.pdf
Situation in Uganda, The Prosecutor v. Dominic Ongwen, Case sheet information, from : https://www.icc-cpi.int/CaseInformationSheets/ongwenEng.pdf
